Firewire 5'3 Seaside in bigger surf

Over the weekend, we had a pretty decent swell. It wasn't huge but bigger than our usual surf.Show more

I surfed Bolsa Chica on my Firewire 5'3" Seaside. I have wondered what the limits are for this board. And I think I have my answer although vaguely.

In terms of catching waves, the limit is the volume that you can paddle. Because it is wider, it will plane a bit so might get you in earlier than a gunny performance board.

In terms of hold, because it is a quad, it holds just fine. I think the biggest wave I caught was about 5' and the board was easy to bottom turn and line up.

In terms of maneuvers, this is where things change. I think if it is too fast of a wave, it will be harder to get performance out of the seaside due to its width. Obviously, skill matters. But generally speaking, when you get going too fast, it is harder to set the rail.

If I surfed this size constantly, I think I could fine tune my skills to get more performance out of the board but unfortunately, my waves are usually smaller and weaker. :(

Hope this helps give you confidence that the board will work in "bigger" waves. Bigger is relative of course. And if you are more skilled than me, it should be much easier in bigger steeper waves.

But for sure, this day was the biggest I have on film on the seaside. I have been out once before on a bigger day. It was much bigger, steeper, and closed out. But the board still held.

Thanks for watching